Retribution
by sam-derevko
Summary: Harry Potter was born into the world of magic. He was heir to riches, land, and a pristine family reputation, yet he grew up in a cupboard under the stairs in a muggle suburbia. He intends to make those responsible pay, and a Potter never backs down.


Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter universe or any ideas, characters, etc that is recognizably owned by another party.

Title: Retribution

Summary: Harry Potter was born into the world of magic. He was heir to riches, land, and a pristine family reputation, yet he grew up in a cupboard under the stairs in a non-magical suburbia. A Potter never backs down. He dedicates his life into making those who destroyed his childhood and his family pay.

A/N: Inspired by the ABC series, Revenge.

Chapter 1 – Family

"Potter! Wait up!" a familiar voice shouted.

Harry turned around and spotted Draco Malfoy rushing to catch up to him. He raised an eyebrow at the Malfoy heir as said boy started gasping for breath.

"How can you be so fast? I've been meaning to catch your attention four corridors ago." The Malfoy heir complained.

Harry shrugged. "Anything I can do for you, Malfoy?"

The blonde boy smirked. "_Malfoy_, now, am I? What happened to calling me by my first name? I gave you permission months ago."

Harry smirked a bit. "I lost an appetite for calling you Draco around the same time you threatened to throw Longbottoms Remembrall into a tree."

"Oh, come on! It was far too good to pass up. No one got hurt and you're the youngest seeker in a century!" Draco whined.

Harry ignored him. "What it is you want, _Draco_?"

"You already know what I want, Harry. We both know that bet we have going about the you-know-what isn't going to resolve itself. A second go. Tonight. Everyone will be at the feast so the corridor should be empty except us. No distractions."

Harry nodded his consent and the Malfoy heir walked away with a new strut of confidence.

"You know you shouldn't egg him on." A voice reprimanded him.

"And you shouldn't be here." He answered it.

A young girl with bushy hair and a red and gold tie came out from the shadows. "Neither should you."

"I'll see you at Charms class, Granger. If I were you, I would keep quiet about this. You wouldn't want me to forget about our bargain now, would you?" he told her.

She stared into his eyes and nodded.

As she turned to leave, he deigned to tell her one piece of advice.

"I wouldn't go anywhere near the dungeons tonight if I were you."

She kept walking away, not giving any indication that she heard him. But he saw a slight tensing of her shoulders and knew that she had. Malfoy would be going down tonight. And if there was anything he knew that she knew _explicitly_ about him, it was that once he targeted someone, that person was his and no one would get in his way.

_A few months ago_

Harry Potter stared at the mounds of coins that now lay waiting for him. Gold shone through, reaching the shadows of the tunnel he was currently standing in. The silver simply lay beside it, and the copper was patiently watching.

"This is all mine?" he asked apathetically.

"O' course! You didn' think your mother an' father left you with nothin', did ya?" The tall man laughed.

Harry turned to face him, and with a small smile, said "No.. I guess not."

Escorting himself and his half-giant companion, the goblin bowed deeply as they left and Harry was quick to note the look of expectation Griphook shot at him as he left the entry hall. Harry nodded discretely in return and walked with the giant man outside of Gringotts.

Harry felt as if he was on auto-pilot as the half-giant escorted him from store to store. He had gotten new robes, a complete set as well as his school uniform. He had a three-compartment trunk even though Hagrid had said it was an unneeded expense. His potions ingredients and materials were already packed away in said trunk as well as his school books. He even received his second ever birthday present.

"Hagrid.. I can't accept that."

"Nonsense! Consider it a Birthday Present." The half-giant smiled as he handed Harry a cage with a beautiful white owl within it.

The owl looked at him intelligently and Harry appraised it slightly. For a second, he saw the owls eyes flash to his own and the stared into each others souls.. Harry smiled at Hagrid after that one second of understanding, and said "Thank you."

Before Hagrid could offer to escort him home, he told the half-giant that he was going to stay in the pub/inn 'The Leaky Cauldron' in order to get more acquainted with the new world he was now living in. Hagrid tried to dissuade him but he pointed out to the man that the Dursleys would need time to return to Number Four, as well as need a cooling off period from him for at least another day or two. It was only wise to make himself scarce from them for now. Reminding the half-giant that his Uncle did threaten Hagrid with a shotgun definitely killed the argument and replaced it with utmost agreement. And so, with a promise to stay out of certain places and keep out of trouble, Harry was left alone with all his school things in Room number 11 at the Leaky Cauldron.

The room was bare, bar only a simple bed and a dresser with a mirror. There was an adjoining door leading to the bathroom.

Harry ran his hands over his new trunk where his school things were already packed. It had three keyholes: the first for his school books, quills, ink bottles, and parchment; the second for his robes; the third for his potions ingredients, cauldron, and crystal phials. As Harry fiddled with his new quill, he let the sharp point dig deeper than usual. Blood erupted at the end of his ring finger. He smeared as much of it all over the cover of his trunk.

A small compartment at the side of his trunk popped open. He moved the box concealed within it. It was a simple wooden box with the Potter crest on top of it. Designed unbreakable and sealed for whoever did not possess the Potter blood.

Harry gently lifted its lid and inside only two things lay innocently and despairingly: a book and a photograph. The photograph was one Harry had already stared at for many hours. It contained a man and a woman smiling and waving at whoever took the picture. They were a picture of innocence and contentment. The photograph, sadly, was only in black and white. But Harry had already seen it so many times that he had mentally coloured in their faces, hair, and eyes in his mind.

After staring at the photograph for a few seconds, he moved it aside and took hold of the book. Disregarding the plain auburn cover and unmarked spine, he lifted the cover and read familiar words: 'A Potter Journal' Within it lay his Fathers thoughts and experiences beginning the death of his grandparents when his Father was sixteen all the way down to a few days before his demise. Within the simple auburn cover was also the Potter legacy, all his Father thought would be important for him to put in writing if he ever couldn't be there when the Potter heir came into age. It was simple forward thinking in a time of war. But Harry began to read it again as a lifeline to a life he could have had.

As Harry stared at the remnants of his Fathers life caged within a small book, he took into note several names that repeatedly popped up: Pettigrew, Lupin, Black, Malfoy, Nott, Crabbe, Goyle, Lestrange, Voldemort and Dumbledore. These people were, in one way or another, related to the reason all he had left of his family was a photograph, a book, a mounds of gold, silver, and copper coins in a cold Gringgots vault. And as he read about his Fathers knowledge on those people, he made a list of their names, going farther than the initial ten he had spotted. These people may not have known it yet, but they had a large debt to pay to a little boy whose parents were taken from him at a too early age.

He eyed the list he had made and grabbed his quill that had his blood all over it. With it, he encircled the name 'Malfoy'. His Retriubution would now begin.


End file.
